Biggest Monster Movie Ever

Rating: 9/10 (15 May 2015)

"To fight monsters, we created monsters of our own" This movie is huge, unlike anything I've ever seen before and it genuinely is a monster of a movie, and exactly as Charlie Day's character puts it "2500 tonnes of awesome". In the first fifteen minutes I was concerned, I felt it came across extremely childish but once the Gypsy Danger crashed onto the beach after a failed mission I knew Del Toro would start bringing in the excellent back-stories and a sense of threat.
I'm not going to dive into the characters too much as I feel they are all so richly constructed it's worth watching it and getting connected to them yourself, but I will say the cast are brilliant. Charlie Hunnam is a top lead and a believable hero, Idris Elba nailed the role of Commanding Officer Stacker Pentecost by delivering true authority. Rinko Kikuchi makes you feel the pain extremely well as Mako Mori, a Jaeger pilot who lost her family in the wake of the Kaiju, Mori's strength and fury comes out whenever she pilots the metal beasts. My only issue is with Charlie Day who seems to be stuck in Horrible Bosses mode, constantly whining and raising his voice whenever he gets the chance, although his co-star Burn Gorman does a great job of bringing you back to reality amongst the colossal fighting that goes on.
The 3D is the best of 2013, this movie focuses more on depth and boy it delivers. From the get go you know you are in for a treat, check out the shot of the Kaiju trashing the bridge, it looks so close but the cars at the front separating the distance beautifully. Cars, building blocks, well actually everything comes close to exiting the screen but you are more a less immersed into the action. Underwater looks incredible as corals and rocks take on pointy surfaces, it all looks stunning. The reference moment is the harbour fight between Gyspy and the acid spitting monster, the 3D is the best I've ever seen at this moment, whole crates and containers whizz around the screen, depth is evident even in split second camera shots, it is groundbreaking in visuals and will no doubt leave you in awe, I totally geeked out and kept shouting at the screen yelling "COME ON!". The sound is the best to hit home cinema systems, every thud, knockout punch, Kaiju roar and splashing waves screams, it is cinematic in definition and in my opinion, better than Transformers, which is a lot coming from me as I'm a huge fan of those movies. You must own this release.
As for the special effects they are awe-inspiring on a grand scale, whole cities are wiped out as Jaegers and Kaiju's leave a path of destruction whilst fighting with extreme power. I love the rain effects that dominate the action scenes, and the majority of the movie is set in the dark so the neon lights of Hong Kong look gorgeous against the backdrop of the carnage. My favourite scene though wasn't a fight, it was the scene where young Mako Mori is running away in terror from a Kaiju, every single camera shot here is excellent and the fear in the young girl's face is frightening, this scene hits hard. This is as big as Godzilla, as destructive and chaotic as Transformers but it has the most heart and depth than both those two which is a bonus, and although it does make you wait for spectacle the payoff is truly breathtaking. I highly recommend this beast of a movie, it's a visual marvel all over and it's bolstered down by wonderful characters.